Lockdown could end NZ rugby season

WELLINGTON • New Zealand Rugby (NZR) says it wants to complete the domestic Super Rugby Aotearoa competition by playing the final two games this weekend but only if the government lifts Covid-19 restrictions that were imposed yesterday.

The government imposed a lockdown on Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, and restrictions on the rest of the country after new coronavirus infections emerged on Tuesday. The restrictions will be reviewed tomorrow.

The Otago Highlanders are due to host the Wellington Hurricanes in Dunedin on Saturday before the Auckland Blues take on the Canterbury Crusaders at a sold-out Eden Park on Sunday.

"The preference is to play this week," said NZR's head of professional rugby Chris Lendrum. "We want to conclude the competition."

However, the decision would rest solely on what the government says tomorrow. "It's possible we could have the game in Dunedin but not in Auckland," he said.

"But we just have to wait until we get the decision from the government on Friday. We have been in lockstep with them all the way through Covid and we trust their advice and will follow it."

The Blues said on Monday that all 43,236 available tickets had been sold for the last game of the domestic championship, organised after the wider Super Rugby competition was shut down in March.

The Crusaders wrapped up the title with a game to spare on Sunday. Reports on Tuesday said the brand-new Super Rugby Aotearoa trophy needs urgent repairs after it was dropped and damaged during the Crusaders' celebrations.

A North-South match, which is being looked at as an All Blacks trial game, is scheduled for Eden Park on Aug 29.

Organisers had hoped to base the annual Rugby Championship competition also involving Australia, South Africa and Argentina in New Zealand later in the year.

Lendrum said it was too early to determine whether those matches could go ahead. "We still have a significant amount of runway available before any possible All Blacks tests are played," he added.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 13, 2020, with the headline Lockdown could end NZ rugby season. Subscribe